"Hey, hey, listen to me. There's nothing we can do about Gecko. He's too young to know what this is all about, and apparently too old to admit. The hell I'm s'posed to do? Plant a brain-hacking bug in his fucking head?" a middle-aged man argued heatedly.
"Hey, quiet down, you two. I don't care 'bout what y'all yapping about. I'm too woke to give a fuck. Let's just get this shit done and go our separate ways."
"Don't hush up. You know I'm spitting facts here. Only Gecko can get this shit transported, and you know I'm right. Only him got the nicks and nacks. You done transported before? Do you know where to nod the heads and when to wag the tails? Only Gecko knows that, for smoke's sake," the third man voiced out, furious despite himself.
The argument between these three men seemed to be at a standstill since none of them want to fully agree with the other. Beside them at the corner of an alleyway were two boxes, large, white and popularly used for delivery by logistics companies. On the boxes were numbers 42 and 26, written boldly with violet paint markers.
Something alive stirred in one of the boxes, shocking the enclosure a little. One of the men tapped the box impatiently a few times, and calm was eventually restored.
However, the heated debate between the men had eventually come to a halt after one of them, resignedly said, "Okay guys. I'll transport this shit. I'm'v done this before, it's no big deal. All I need is to call my homie to drive the van here, you two take a separate vehicle to wait there for me... then boom, I appear with the damn boxes. I promise I can pull this off."
"And how are we supposed to believe that, 24-Savage? Whatchu gonna do when you come across the patrol feds?"
"Today's new year eve, Stevo. There's a slim chance of high inspection. Plus, I know how to take care of myself, and others most especially," the guy called 24-Savage replied.
"See, Stevo, we done wasted enough time, I tell ya. Since we can't get Gecko like you wanted and 24 is offering a hand, we can't waste no further time," said the man called G-locks.
After much pondering, the guy named Stevo agreed to 24's suggestion but on one condition:
"I'm not going with this plan if we're not going in that van with you."
"Aw, Stevo! C'mon man!" 24 flung his arms up in frustration.
"Right. I think I kinda agree with Stevo," said G-locks. "It's our first time using a different transporter. We should be more cautious of some scam in place."
"Aight man, whatever," conceded 24-Savage. "Just wait while I phone Phil. He won't take long."
24-Savage moved a few distance from the other men and brought out his phone to place the call. After a few failed dials, the guy Phil finally picked up and they had a brief conversation that mostly involved 24 snapping at the Phil guy. The main things 24 discussed with Phil, however, was oblivious to G-locks and Stevo.
After a while, 24 returned and discussed the plan with the other men. After that, they all went to stand by the entrance of the alley, impatiently waiting for Phil and the van.
After five minutes, the men were rather growing more agitated and extremely impatient. They sighed non-stop, all three, until they discovered that there was another person sighing along with them.
"Nah man… What's taking dude Phil so long, man?" the young voice said, imitating their gangly tone.
Alarmed, the three men swiftly turned only to see Eric standing right behind them, looking as if he was indeed growing frustrated with Phil's lateness.
"Wha—?!" 24 exclaimed.
G-Lock's gaze shot to the corner where they kept the two boxes only to find both of them opened, torn and shattered. Also, beside the damaged boxes was a young girl who huddled in a corner, shivering.
"Son of a b---h," cursed Stevo. "How the hell did they get out?"
"It's a complicated process, comrade Stevo. First—"
"Who the hell cares how you got out? Get the f--k back in before I punch a hole in your skull," 24 said through gritted teeth while pushing Eric back to the corner, forcefully.
Just then, they heard tyres screeching right behind them. A white van stopped after its driver suddenly stepped on the brakes without first slowing down.
Jumping out of the vehicle was a chubby man with flushed face, an extremely blond hair and limbs thick enough for four men. The shape and size of this man was a totally odd sight for Eric, as he has never seen any human with a size half as enormous as this man's. Nothing speaks human about the man to Eric, so he arrived at the only one conclusion...
Phil is a beast?! In this world, a beast can drive?
"What took you so long, Phil?" yelled 24-savage.
"Uh, had to finish my Big Mack. Then I took a shit. Then I forgot the keys. Then there was this chic who looked at me like I was a bucket of nuggets. She seemed interested, so, I asked her if she wanted sum... Turns out she didn't want sum, she only complimented me and said I can feed a nation for a year. It's disturbing however, that she had a disgusted look on her face when she said that. But what's more disturbing is that I don't think you're listening to what I'm saying."
Sure enough, the three men were done listening to Phil. Stevo had gone over to the girl by the corner and tried to get her out of her huddled spot. G-Lock had jumped into the back of the van, searching for something. Only 24 was near Phil because he was holding Eric firmly by his shoulders, but his back was turned to Phil, while he waited for the others to finish preparing.
"Don't worry, Phil the beast. I am listening to you," Eric said with a cute smile after tucking his head out through 24-savage's armpit to gaze up at Phil, rambling.
"Now, that's some cool ass alias you got for me there, kiddo. Where was I? Oh, the woman. So…" continued Phil, happy that someone seemed interested.
"I found new boxes in the van. Done coupling them. You can bring the kids," G-Lock announced, poking his head out of the van's back door.
Immediately, Stevo arrived with the young girl scooped in his arms, while 24-savage pushed Eric over to the van, breaking the rapport between him and Phil.
"Don't push him like that. He's a dear boy," Phil said.
A minute later, everything was set and they were ready to move. 24-savage jumped to the driver's seat while Stevo and G-Lock got beside him through the other door. Eric and the young lady had been tucked into two separate boxes and thrown into the empty large backspace in the van. Phil entered through the backdoor also and sat by a wooden bench beside the boxes where the kids were, he was eager to continue the new topic he'd opened with Eric.
"That kid is damn weird, don't you think?" said G-Lock to the other two guys. "I mean, he should be scared, but did you see the way he walked back into that box himself?"
"Weird or not, I don't care. He getting trafficked and I'm getting my returns," 24 replied savagely.
The key turned and they drove away from the dark alley. Eric again had poked a hole in the box and brought his head out. Phil was right in his face.
"I feel very safe and warm inside this box, Phil the beast. See, this world is too cold for me but I'm willing to freeze just to hear you speak. So tell me, Phil. How are you able to speak? What age did it start and how did you handle it? Because in my former world, beasts can't speak, see?"
"Ha, easy thing there, youngling. I have been speaking since I was one," replied Phil.
"Wow! And how old are you now?"
"Twenty five, boy. Let me bet you a secret, I'm actually the strongest one here."
"With that mass, I don't doubt that," Eric replied delightedly. "You're an amazing beast, Phil, seeing how you've lived this long. So, what kind of beast are you?"
"Uhm… one time, my mother called me a chicken nuggets monster after I tried to stuff a whole bucket in my mouth. So, I guess I'm a chicken nugget beast."
Eric looked incredibly impressed. "Do your species all look like you? I mean, the chicken nuggets?"
"Like me, you mean smooth and round? No. They always come out rough and crispy on the surface, but soft on the inside. You should see one."
"Wow. He's a different being in his species. I should consume the mana from one of these beasts. Bet it'd last a long time before being used up."
"You are a super cool beast, Phil."
"Pipe down there, you fucking fowls," yelled 24-Savage. "And you, how the hell did you poke a hole in there again? We bound your hands, right?"
"Right," replied Eric before lowering his head back into the box. "That one 24 is scary."
"I can f-king hear you!"
"You can't talk to my friend like that, 24," Phil countered. "I won't allow that."
"You friend?" The three men at the front all burst out laughing. For some reason, Eric didn't know why the laughter was taking too long to end.
I wonder what happened after I appeared here. For some reason, the system is not popping up to answer me. Is it dead? No. If it's dead, I would have lost my powers or maybe died also.
What am I going to do in this world? There must be a reason the system selected this world specifically. Also, who is that shivering young girl? She was found beside me by a dump yard, according to 24 and the others.
I'm brimming with questions. Can this freaking system come on and at least ignore my questions like it used to?
Suddenly, the van came to a stop. Eric heard Stevo hiss in frustration at the challenge before them. A man who Eric guessed to be the "patrol fed" walked up to the driver's window.
"What do you have in the van there?"
"Oh, shit," Phil let out under his breath.